60 On Up

The Truth about Aging in the Twenty-first Century

A penetrating look at the profound changes that come with the new longevity, for those living it now and the boomers behind them

“Getting old sucks,” says best-selling author Dr. Lillian Rubin. With refreshing candor, she digs down under the statistics about our graying population and offers a provocative and unflinching examination of all the burning issues that mark aging today. Tackling the subject over a broad swath of the population, cutting across race, class, gender, and physical and cognitive ability, Rubin delivers a powerful and long-overdue reminder that everyone will be touched by the problems arising from our new longevity.

“For anyone in their fifties, sixties, or beyond, a new way to think about the rest of your life.” —Alix Kates Shulman

“What does it mean that Americans now want to retire early, but typically live into their 90s? . . . Rubin, in her early 80s and a very good writer, explores the good news/bad news about greater longevity of today’s Americans.” —David Mehegan, Boston Globe

“A sharp, brazenly honest expos‚àöv† for the 78 million baby boomers who will grow old over the next two decades and can reasonably expect to survive into their 90s.” —Cathleen Medwick, O Magazine

“60 on Up is everything most books on aging are not. It is not sentimental, not filled with stale advice to keep busy, avoid calories, and think young. Instead, it offers authentic wisdom about the complexities of aging. Its fiercely realistic but tender explorations are strangely comforting because they relieve us of the burden of denial and give us a vision of facing our later years with dignity and courage.” —Sam Keen, author of Fire in the Belly

“With honesty, compassion and a large measure of wit and wisdom . . . Rubin describes in full the world of the elderly in America . . . Revealing and thought-provoking, this book makes a fine, thorough primer for middle-aged adults preparing for ‘this business of getting old.’“—Publishers Weekly